


and i fell in love with her in stages (my whole life);

by hizzie



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, accepting prompts!!, and god knows it was time for me to start a hizzie one shot/drabble series LMAO
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hizzie/pseuds/hizzie
Summary: An (hopefully) endless series of drabbles and ficlets inspired by random prompts featuring Hope and Lizzie.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 112
Kudos: 344





	1. you are not a picture (i can't cut you up and hide you).

**Author's Note:**

> God knows this was coming... This isn't like, great, but I just wanted to get started on something so I could just finally put at least one of the 834738473489 AUs I have in mind for Hizzie to words lmao. There might be a second part to this!

**prompt: _I sent a selfie of myself in the tub to the wrong number_**

(title from: r.e.m. by ariana grande)

Lizzie Saltzman is no stranger to booty calls.

Wait, she should rephrase that -- it’s not like  _ that.  _ She, herself, hasn’t ever really --  _ you know,  _ only really having that one time with Raf at the gym and the, well, dozens of times with Sebastian in, um, pretty much everywhere, but -

It’s not like that. She means she understands what those are. She knows how to recognize one -- when Jed once texted her a  _ “u up?”  _ mistakingly (the mistake wasn’t that he’d sent  _ her  _ the text, but that he believed it would actually  _ work) _ , or that time MG heard one of Kaleb’s many (terrible, awful) advices and actually tried his hand at, well,  _ booty calling  _ (texting?) Lizzie. And also, movies and media and Caroline Forbes is her mom and she never really measures her words when she’s telling her daughters about how the world really works so they’re prepared.

Anyway. That’s what she means when she says she’s no stranger to those. And that’s why she immediately recognizes the most recent text she’s gotten from one Hope Mikaelson for what it is: a booty call.

She frowns, her thumb hovering over the screen as she tries to figure out whether she wants to open the message and look at the picture she’d been sent closely or not -- the thumbnail in the locked screen let her know that Hope was in a bathtub -- and she decides that she might just as well know what she was working with.

There’s not much to the text -- aside from the picture, she guesses -- and Lizzie quickly realizes that this is definitely not meant for her. Not just because Hope Mikaelson has sent her a nude, but because the message paints her a picture that they would have shared a bathtub together, and, as far as Josie’s spell got her to remember, they definitely had never done such a thing.

She pauses, both elated that she’s gotten this opportunity from the youngest Mikaelson herself and extremely uncomfortable that she was put in this situation at all.

_ Lizzie: Well, what do we have here? _

She locks her phone again and sets it face down on the table, trying to school her expression as she looks up at her family and asks her mother for the salt. 

It takes a few minutes for her phone to buzz again, and Lizzie was well immersed into the conversation at the table -- Bonnie had discovered this new spell that could help with grey hairs -- when the telltale sign of a new message (followed by another five in a row) from Lizzie’s phone had stopped Josie mid sentence. Three pair of eyes turned to her curiously.

Lizzie licked her lips, her eyes on her twin sister. She smiled encouragingly, “Go on.” 

Another buzz.

“Liz, maybe you want to check it? See if everything’s okay?” Josie said, the badly-masked anxiety seeping through her tone. Her dark bambi eyes are doing that thing they do whenever she’s concerned - or, well, feeling any sort of  _ anything,  _ really -, and Lizzie knows that her sister is still recovering from the whirlwind of near-death experiences they have faced over the last few months. She takes her hand to her twin’s hand and squeezes it once.

“It’s just MG,” she lies easily, “He’s just sending me a few links I asked for. It’s okay,” She reassures her sister, because, really, she’s not exactly lying, and continues, “Now, go on.”

Josie seems to believe her, then, and her shoulders visibly drop in relief. She nods and turns back to their aunt, who had been watching their interaction with a soft, yet curious smile. Caroline had her eyes on Lizzie, as if she could’ve sniffed out the bullshit from where she sat -- which, honestly, not surprising, because Lizzie did learn everything she knew from the older blonde, so. 

Josie and Bonnie fall into conversation about the logistics of said spell and Lizzie avoids her mother’s eyes as she grabs her phone and turns it over, trying to school her expression when she scrolls down to see Hope’s panic attack in text form on her locked screen. 

_ Hope: Fuck. _

_ Hope: Fuck I thought this was to Landon _

_ Hope: God can you pretend this never happened I’m so sorry fuck _

_ Hope: Lizzie please delete this I’m so sorry your name is like right next to Landon’s on my phone and I wasn’t paying enough attention please ignore this please _

_ Hope: Lizzie?????? _

_ Hope: Fuck. _

Lizzie doesn’t unlock her phone -- no, she just puts her phone back down and focuses back on the conversation going on. Her mother’s watchful and knowing eyes were still on her, and she definitely wanted to milk this situation as much as she could -- just thinking of the all mighty Tribrid freaking out over giving Lizzie this much power over her kind of healed all remaining wounds Lizzie had because of the last few months. 

She finishes her dinner, helps her mother with the dishes, has tea and plays a game with Bonnie and Josie, and only when Josie tells her she’s going to shower before bed and Bonnie and Caroline start watching a movie does she allow herself to fish her phone out of her back pocket and look at the messages again. 

_ Lizzie: Huh. I thought you and Landon broke up.  _

The response is immediate.

_ Hope: We did. And thanks for answering so fast, btw, that was much appreciated. _

Lizzie can hear the disdain in the girl’s voice through text and it makes her smile -- a full blown smile, with dimples and all. 

_ Lizzie: Sorry, Mikaelson, but quality family time comes before booty calls. _

_ Hope: that’s not what that was!!!! It wasn’t meant for you!!! You didn’t have to keep me waiting _

_ Lizzie: Waiting? My, my, Mikaelson _

__

Lizzie is sure that she looks like a maniac now -- she can feel her cheeks cramping up with the smile and she’s sure that her mother and her aunt are bound to notice. She quickly excuses herself from the room, then, saying she’s going to grab some air. The older women nod at her as she walks out through the sliding doors leading to the patio and Lizzie can feel her mother’s eyes on her as she waits for Hope’s response.

_ Hope: Fuck off, Saltzman, that’s not what I meant  _

_ Hope: For real though.  _

Lizzie sat down on one of the poolside chairs and exhaled a happy sigh before she started typing again.

_ Lizzie: :) A bathtub, huh? I guess you two are tiny enough that it would work. _

_ Hope: Shut up. _

_ Lizzie: No, I’m having fun.  _

_ Lizzie: What were you expecting? A blast from the past? Reconnections through the wire? Aren’t you like, in New Orleans right now? _

_ Hope: Fuck off. And yeah, I am _

_ Lizzie: Soooo……… what was the intentions, Mikaelson?? We’re friends now, best friends even, I deserve to know _

_ Hope: You don’t deserve anything, but I was drunk.  _

_ Lizzie: Was?  _

_ Hope: This sobered me up pretty well. _

Lizzie snickers. She makes a decision and clicks on a few buttons and takes her phone to her ear and waits. Hope answers on the third beep. “ _ Why _ are you calling me?”

“Texting just wasn’t enough,” Lizzie answers airily, more than enjoying the absolute trepidation in the other girl’s tone. She smiles when Hope sighs on the other end. 

“I deserve this, I suppose.” 

“Mm,” Lizzie hums, doesn’t disagree. She can practically hear the eye roll from miles away. She smirks when she hears movement on the other side of the call, “You still waiting for me to join you, Mikaelson?” 

“Fuck off, Lizzie,” Hope grumbles on the other end, “Did you delete the picture already?”

“Nah, I’m in no rush.” 

“You’re unbelievable.” 

“Thanks.”

“Not a compliment. Delete the picture. Seriously.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes, “Calm down, Mikaelson. It’s not like I’m planning on keeping the picture to myself or anything, as hot as it may look.” 

She closes her eyes, quickly catching herself on. 

There’s silence in the other end and she thinks that maybe she’s just handed Hope the knife to stab her with back. Oh, well, fucking  _ at least  _ it hadn’t been written down where Hope could save it and rub it on her face later.

(So much for having the upper hand. The universe really could be one petty motherf-)

“I won’t mention it if you won’t.” Hope says suddenly, voice somewhat strained. Lizzie quickly understands the meaning behind the words, understand what’s being proposed.

“Mention what?” 

“Good girl.” 

And -- 

“That’s -”

“Nope. Not happening. Can’t talk about it because this didn’t happen.” 

There’s _ a lot  _ that Lizzie suddenly wants to unpack here, but for the time being -- 

“Right. Yeah.” There’s a pause, and then a thought comes to mind, “Um, I know this didn’t happen, but like - are you gonna, or did you, I mean -” She pauses, tries to formulate her question, and Hope waits, “Are you going to send it to…”

“No.” Hope answers quickly. “It was a dumb idea. I’m kind of glad it went your way instead, weirdly.” 

“Me too,” Lizzie says, way too fucking quickly - again, because it wouldn’t be her if she didn’t -, and she hears Hope’s intake of breath on the other end and closes her eyes, wishing more than anything that she could just, like,  _ not --  _ “I mean -”

She stops, because as it turns out, she doesn’t know what she means. Hope waits, and Lizzie scrambles to come up with anything. She fails to, because she sees Josie approaching her with a curious look on her face, and she wonders if she looks as panicked as she feels. “Josie, hey!” 

Josie frowns at her manic greeting and waves, and Lizzie talks into the phone, “So, I have to go,  _ MG,  _ because I’m pretty tired and today’s been a long day and --”

“Alright. Okay. Um. Goodnight, Liz.” Lizzie doesn’t think about how Hope’s tone is almost deflated on the other end, way too fucking grateful that her twin had showed up when she did. 

“‘Kay, night, bye!” She ends the call and locks her phone quickly and turns to her twin, trying her hardest to not act like the world’s biggest maniac. 

“How’s MG?” Josie asks when she stops in front of her sister, and her eyes are suspicious but she doesn’t question her out loud -- sometimes Josie knew that it was just best to let Lizzie figure things out before getting involved. 

“Fine,” She says, rubbing her hands together before she stands up and starts to make her way back to the house, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to shower.”

_ (Lots of thinking to do.) _

Josie watches her sister walk away with a confused frown, and Lizzie makes a mental note to try and get it together before they start thinking that she’s about to have another episode -- and all of this because Hope Mikaelson can’t seem to know how to read properly. 

She closes the bathroom door behind her and unlocks her phone, her screen still opened on the messages and her heart all but jumps in her chest when she sees the three dots bubble come up on the screen for a few seconds before it disappears for good, signaling that Hope had given up on whatever she had wanted to say. Lizzie exhales, sliding down the door slowly as she grimaces.

As she was saying earlier, Lizzie Saltzman was no stranger to booty calls. 

This, however, was bound to be a fucking problem. 

( _ Thanks a lot, Mikaelson. _ )


	2. how can we be lovers if we can't be friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> request sent by anon: "I saw that you are taking prompt for you hizzie series of fics so I wanted to prompt you something if that's okay with you. After what has been said the whole school is firmly convinced that Hope and Lizzie are not just firends. Nothing seems to be able to prove different and Hope and Lizzie are annoyed. OR are they really?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i genuinely wrote most of this while i was half asleep and thought this was somewhat decent enough to post it. hope you like it!

_**how can we be lovers if we can't be friends?** _

(yes, the title is from the michael bolton song)

“I mean, it was pretty obvious -“ the sentence is cut short when the sound of the Tribrid’s notebook slams against the table nearby, doing little to respect the Library’s guidelines about silence and disruption. The three girls that had their heads pulled close together as they gossiped away pulled apart, and they pretended to focus back on their assignment — all the while, with watchful eyes towards the young Mikaelson. 

Hope, of course, had noticed it. She’s a little used to being gawked at — it’s annoying, sure, but most things are annoying to her, so that’s just how things are, sometimes — but this is getting kind of ridiculous. She’s not exactly sure what’s happened — she hadn’t realized people cared that much about Hope and Landon breaking up and Josie and Landon going back together, because like, it really isn’t nobody’s business but their own, so —, but now with the gawking, there had been whispering and chuckling and knowing eyes and Hope had been slipped an invitation to the LGBT+ Witch club earlier that morning with a knowing smile and a big wink which was still a puzzle to her. 

She licks her lips and opens her notebook, deciding that she might as well get some work done, when her ears picked up on something to her left and she couldn’t help but be intrigued by.

_ “It makes so much sense, though, right? I mean, all the fighting and all those bitchy comments… it was kinda written in the stars.”  _ One girl says. Hope recognizes the voice as one of the girls from one of her classes and she doesn’t bother with trying to remember her name — Hope’s fucking awful at remembering people’s names — and just keeps listening.

_ “Speaking of written in the stars… Genuinely, though. You know how Klaus Mikaelson was like super in love with the Twins’ mom? I mean, Caroline Forbes. Not… you get it.”  _

_ “Oh, you’re right! Damn, that’s kind of crazy, huh —“ _

It wasn’t unusual for people to talk about her dad — but  _ this  _ was new. Hope frowns. Had someone ( _ ahem,  _ Lizzie) divulged with like,  _ everyone  _ that she’d had that one temporary crush on Josie? Was that it?

Before she could listen in anymore, the sound of books being slammed on the table she was using makes almost everyone in the somewhat silent room jump, and Hope looks up, startled, at the very person she’d been just thinking about murdering. She frowns.

“Loud much?” 

Lizzie rolls her eyes, pulling the chair back and sitting down without responding verbally. Hope notices that the gossiping trio on the table nearby have gone quiet, and instead she can feel their eyes on them. 

She glances their way curiously and they quickly look away. Lizzie follows her eyes and rolls her eyes again.

“What’s up with them?” 

“What’s up with  _ everyone?”  _ At Lizzie’s questioning look, Hope leans forward and tells her quietly that, “Everyone’s been…  _ gawking _ . Like, more than usual. And —  _ whispering  _ and  _ gossiping  _ and —“ she pauses when she remembers something, licks her lips and practically hisses, “did you tell anyone about my…  _ crush _ on Josie?” 

Lizzie frowns, looking a mix of disgusted and affronted at the question, “No! Why would I tell  _ anyone  _ about  _ that _ ?” 

Hope frowns, disbelieving, “ _ Because _ why else would  _ anyone  _ be talking about how the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and the daughter Caroline Forbes’ love affair was written in the stars?” 

Hope watches as Lizzie’s frown deepens, and then her mouth opens, and then closes, and then Lizzie’s dark eyebrows smooth out as she seems to regain conscience of whatever might have caused this situation. 

Lizzie licks her lips and nods slowly, an uncharacteristic apologetic look taking over her face. Hope raises an eyebrow. 

“What did you do?” She asks flatly.

Lizzie clears her throat and brings her chair closer to Hope so she can lean forward and tell her in a low voice, “Okay, so don’t be mad — no, really, promise me you won’t be mad and hear me out,” at Hope’s huff, she nods and continues, “Okay, so. You know how you went all Sleeping Beauty and I had to do that whole, um, pretending-to-be-you thing?”

“And made me far more friendly that I am and wrote me into the Wolf Pack Weekend Dodgeball I’ve carefully and successfully avoided since I’ve entered this goddamn school? Yes, I remember that.” Hope glared. Lizzie snorts before she remembers she’s not supposed to make Hope mad — 

“Well. Yes. I might have done…  _ something  _ else.” 

Hope blinks. Lizzie bites her lips.

“Like, I swear, it was just a slip, I didn’t think people would —“

“Just say it.”

“ _ Promise  _ me you’ll school your reaction.”

Hope blinks, and when Lizzie refuses to continue, she sighs and nods, agreeing.

The blonde exhales, then clears her throat and continues in a barely there voice, “I might have…  _ implied…  _ in a heartfelt eulogy to myself from well,  _ you,  _ that, um…” She clears her throat again, her eyes looking at a particular spot on the table that just seemed way too interesting right now, “...that we're lovers.”

Hope’s eyes flash gold and Lizzie gulps. The auburn haired girl closes her eyes, taking deep breaths and trying her hardest to control her reaction, and Lizzie waits. 

It takes Hope a minute.

“Now it all makes sense.”

Lizzie waits. 

“So you told everyone that you… and I…”

“Mhm.”

Hope nods. Lizzie thinks she sees a hint of a blush on the other girl’s pale cheeks but she can’t be sure. 

“Okay. Well. Not the worst thing that’s happened this month, I’ll say.”

Lizzie’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “Really?”

“I mean, your sister did wreck havoc in the school which led to many unpleasant things to happen in a short amount of time,” Hope shrugged with one shoulder, “having people think I am, um…  _ involved  _ with you isn’t like, the worst. Plus, it’s not like… news.”

Everything about that statement makes Lizzie even more confused. Her facial expression alone asks Hope to elaborate. 

“On Thanksgiving, when I was with Raf,” Hope begins, “he said he saw us and that he was like, sure that I had boys and girls after me and all that. I think it was because he saw us leaving that table together.”

Lizzie nods, recalling Landon bringing that up himself. She licks her lips. “Right.”

“Yeah, so…” 

“So you’re not mad?” 

“No, like I said, there are worse things to be said about either of us,” Hope says finally. She leans forward and takes Lizzie’s hand in her own and grins, “plus, this could be entertaining.” 

Lizzie pulls her hand away like she’d been burned, “Absolutely not.”

“Aw, come on, Liz,” Hope chuckles, “We’re written in the stars. And you  _ always  _ win, remember?” 

“You’re an ass,” Lizzie states, “That caused severe damages to not only my mental health and our friendship but also to my relationship to my sister, not to mention the loss of your belong-“

“Yeah, yeah, but like,” Hope smirks, standing halfway from her chair so she can lean forward and actually be centimeters away from the blonde and say with a happy, fake smile, “you got us into this mess, and you  _ know  _ I love when you get what you deserve.”

“So,” Lizzie narrows her eyes in challenge, her face so close to Hope’s their noses are brushing, “by that logic, you’re saying I deserve…  _ you _ ?”

Hope falters, seeing where her little attempt at riling Lizzie up and getting the upper hand in the situation the blonde twin had put them in had failed. Lizzie grins when she sees that she’s managed to get Hope to hesitate on her little game.

She inches up, depositing a quick peck on the other girl’s lips — out of complete and sheer self confidence that only really ever happened when Lizzie managed to win at one of her and Hope’s mental battles — and she stood from the chair, picking up her books before winking and saying, “See you later,  _ babe. _ ” before she turned to leave.

Hope gawked at her, face flushed and lips burning and she wondered if Lizzie had cast some sort of spell on her to get her to react like that. What brings her back to earth is the sound of the gossip on the same table near her pick up back again after the public display.

_ “Oh, my God. I thought they were just fucking around. Did you see? She called her ‘babe’.” _

_ “They’re so in love! Did you see how close they were?” _

_ “They’re so fucking cute, oh my God.” _

Hope closes her eyes and exhales. 

_ You’ve been through worse, Hope.  _ She reminds herself. Yes. She’s been through worse. 

She still grumbles under her breath as she picks up her books and leaves the library, trying her hardest to ignore the looks she’s being given for being Lizzie Saltzman’s  _ lover. _

_ The fucking fact that — _

Her eyes flash gold. She holds her breath and counts to five.  _ Save it, Hope. Save the aggression.  _

She has a fucking dodgeball game to get to. 

( _ Fucking Elizabeth Saltzman and her gifts to the world, everyone.)  _


	3. closeted nerd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> drabble prompted by an anon on tumblr! :)

She’s not sure why this is happening.

 _This_ being, well, some sort of hell purgatory on Earth after she makes one small comment that gets an overflowing wave of other small comments that Lizzie has apparently done over the years to hit one very amused looking Hope Mikaelson when Lizzie least wants her to.

(Not that she’d like, _ever_ want _this_ , but like - you know.)

That disgustingly charming Mikaelson smirk appears, and one eyebrow is raised and then – “Well?” 

Lizzie rolls her eyes. 

“I’m ignoring you.”

“No, you’re not. I can hear your thinking from here.”

“Oh, now she’s a mind reader, everyone!” Lizzie announces to the empty room. The fire crackles and Hope blinks, completely unbothered, still waiting.

Lizzie relents. A sigh, and then, “what was the question, again?”

The auburn haired girl chuckles, like she always does, and Lizzie kind of hates it a lot, actually – the way everything always looks so infuriatingly amusing to Hope. _(And by **everything** , she means Lizzie’s every breath, basically.)_

“I asked,” Hope repeats slowly, as if she’s talking to a child. Lizzie doesn’t like that, and she makes sure Hope knows she doesn’t like that by the way she flips her off instantly – _(and like clockwork there’s that fucking smile again, honestly, can **anyone** take Lizzie seriously here, please?!)_ – “why have I never noticed that you’re such a geek?”

Lizzie exhales sharply. All she had asked was where Landon was.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t think so -”

“Mm, I think you do.” Hope insists. Lizzie squints. “You asked me, and I quote, _‘Where is Landon? Still not off his shift at the Green Dragon?’_ ”

And well, okay. I guess she sees her point, but still - “What’s your point?” 

“What the fuck is the Green Dragon?” 

Lizzie rolls her eyes, “It’s the main pub in Bywater, which is in The Shire, which is basically where all the Hobbits live in Middle Eart- okay. I see.” She stops when Hope’s expression turns to one of sheer amusement. “Maybe I like Tolkien. Fucking sue me.”

“Hey, I’m not judging!” Hope raises both hands in the air, “I think it’s fine. I just think it’s funny that it’s taken me this long to notice how much you reference Lord of the Rings.” 

“It’s not _that_ often.”

“Well, I guess you do have your Harry Potter moments. And Star Wars. And Game of Thrones?” Hope squints, as if asking herself, as if trying to pull a memory, and then she nods - “No, yeah, definitely. I’ve definitely heard you reference Game of Thrones once or twice.”

“I’ve never referenced Star Wars,” is what Lizzie says, because the blonde doesn’t have much to hold on to. She knows she’s called Josie _“Lord Voldemort”_ a few weeks ago. 

And maybe referred to humans as muggles once or twice.

And, well, _everyone_ loves Game of Thrones, so -

“Pretty sure you called Penelope Kylo Ren that one time.” Hope licks her lips, Lizzie pretends she doesn’t look at it, “And that whole… E-wall thing.”

“You’re thinking of Wall-E, that Pixar movie we watched that one time and Kaleb had to leave the room to cry in the closet, remember? It’s Ewoks. _That’s_ from Star Wars.”

Hope blinks and Lizzie winces. 

_Goddamn it._

“A-ha! See?! How did I never notice that before?” 

And honestly? There was no point in denying it now. So maybe she should just threaten Hope, or maybe tell her she knows about that one time that Hope broke her dad’s watch - but then Hope licks her lips again _(and honestly, you’d think with the Mikaelson money Hope would be able to get some good chapstick to sort that out or whatever)_ and suddenly Lizzie goes a completely different way than she’d originally thought of and -

“Maybe you’re just not paying enough attention, Mikaelson.”

The auburn haired girl raises an eyebrow. Lizzie raises one of her own, and this time there’s that little smile playing at the corner of her lips that Lizzie wonders if Hope is ever sick of. 

“Maybe,” Hope bites her bottom lip. _(Lizzie wonders if she licks her lip so much because she hurts them with her werewolf slash vampire teeth. Then she wonders if it’s weird that she thinks about that.)  
_

“But,” Hope continues, her eyes never leaving Lizzie’s and she _swears_ she sees a flash of gold in them, “I certainly am now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make me very happy! Find me @ eviegrimhildes on tumblr, and feel free to send me prompts <3


	4. this thing upon me, howls like a beast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on two prompts i got on tumblr: jealous hope & someone from the supersquad 'pushing' hizzie in the right direction. 
> 
> (BTW, this is canon divergent, basically it’s set on an AU where after 2x06 when everyone’s memories came back, Sebastian never got sent to the prison world and Landon and Hope had decided that they were better off as best friends and Hope had been lowkey pining for Lizzie after the 80s dance.)

**this thing upon me, hows like a beast**

_(woman by harry styles)_

“So, what’s the deal with Sebastian, anyway?” 

“Uh,” Landon pauses his talking mid sentence, his fork halfway to his mouth. _(Today’s menu was roasted chicken and Landon fucking loved the school’s roasted chicken the most.)_ He follows Hope’s line of sight, at the corner of the dining hall, where the the taller Saltzman twin was standing - _maybe a tad bit too close, as this was still a school, right?_ \- with the chaotic vampire Landon had been assigned to babysit the prior week. “What do you mean?”

Hope doesn’t look away from the duo when she answers, “What does he want with Lizzie?” 

Landon coughs almost immediately. “I mean -”

Hope rolls her eyes, finally looking back at him. “You know what I mean.”

The curly haired boy shrugs. The truth was, he wasn’t sure. He thinks Sebastian might care about Lizzie, but he doesn’t think that he would essentially be the right match for his girlfriend’s twin. He would never tell this to the blonde, of course, because Lizzie had never asked and Landon doesn’t think that she ever will - they might be somewhat friendly now that Josie and Landon are dating, even after everyone’s memories came back and Hope and Landon decided that they had both moved on and found new things to focus on, but he doesn’t think Lizzie is going to be asking him for boyfriend advice anytime soon. Which, you know, is good, because Landon doesn’t think he’s the best person to ask for advice, even though Josie is always telling him that he is. Anyway, he digresses. 

“I think they’re just hooking up, I don’t know,” Landon says finally. “Josie said they have been like,um, _you know,_ all the time, and that Lizzie kept waking her up with her sneaking in and out every night,” He pauses, takes another bite of his chicken and smiles, “Great seasoning on the chicken today, Miss Lucy never fails -”

Hope nods, completely ignoring his statement about the food and focusing on the first part of his statement. “So, they’re like, dating?” 

Landon swallows his bite and washes it down with a sip of his juice - mango, his favorite - “I don’t know, Hope. I think Josie mentioned something about...” He trails off, his face turning neutral when he remembers exactly what Josie had said. “Nevermind.” 

“What?” Hope asks, leaning closer to the boy, her eyes wide and curious. Landon gulps. “What is it, Landon? What did Josie say?”

Landon gulps. “I - I shouldn’t say it. It’s not my place.”

“ _What_ is it, Landon?” She insists. Landon sighs - he really hopes that this doesn’t get him in trouble. Hope grins when she sees the resolution in his face. 

“Basically, well, um --” Landon began, playing with his fork as a way to distract himself from Hope’s intense stare. “So, um, you know when Josie found out that you’re back and stuff?” 

Hope nodded, Landon continued, “She like, read this passage from Lizzie’s diary. It kind of, um. Well, basically -” 

“ _Spill,_ Landon.”

“Lizzie wrote in her diary that Sebastian reminds her of... _someone_ ,” Landon frowns, “Something like that. Josie didn’t give me details - actually, I didn’t really ask because it’s kinda weird to know that stuff about Lizzie, you know, like, _it’s weird_ , right?” Landon’s frown dissolves when he sees Hope’s expression at his digressing, “Sorry, um - well, Josie thinks she knows who Lizzie was talking about.” 

Hope raised an eyebrow, “So, who?” 

Landon shrugs, “Beats me,” He lies, hoping Hope buys it. When she looks like she’s about to ask, he asks, “Why are you so interested, anyway?” 

Hope pauses, not expecting the question. “I, um - I'm not.” 

Landon raises an eyebrow. Hope sighs, “Truly. I’m just curious. And concerned for Lizzie’s safety. I don’t trust Sebastian.”

Landon nods -- of course, he doesn’t buy it, but it wouldn’t do him any good in saying it out loud. “He’s not a bad guy.”

“Still, it’s Lizzie, you know?” Hope licks her lips, her eyes trailing back to the couple in the corner. “I just don’t want her to get hurt.” 

Landon studies Hope, and something in his brain clicks. He hadn’t wanted to tell Hope about what Josie had told him in detail because he didn’t want to expose Lizzie like that without her knowing - he knew the girl would be mad if she knew that Josie had even told Landon anything in the first place. But, well.

He likes to think that he knows Hope. Like, actually _knows_ her. He used to believe once upon a time that they were each other’s epic love - _and, well, maybe they are. Who’s to say epic love can’t be platonic, anyway? Friendships are awesome_ \- and he likes to think that he has a grasp on the younger Mikaelson, his best friend, that most people don’t. So that’s why when he looks at Hope and finds her looking at the duo in the corner with her eyes reflecting a mix of specific emotions - emotions that Landon can recognize so easily on Hope - he decides that maybe a push in the right direction wouldn’t really hurt, in the grand scheme of things. 

He takes another sip of his mango juice, his eyes on the same duo that Hope was staring at. Lizzie had glanced at them and had sent a small smile their way as she caught their eyes. ( _Well - the smile was probably headed to Hope, but Landon likes to think that he and Lizzie are on their way to the sending smiles to each other level of friendship.)_

“Huh, that’s funny.” He says when Sebastian walks away from the blonde with that trademarked smirk on his face. 

“What?” Hope asks, not looking away from the blonde, a small smile on her face. Landon tried to hide his smile - Hope was so obliviously smitten.

“Nothing, it’s just -” He paused for effect, “I guess I just never noticed how Sebastian kinda looks like a male version of you.”

It takes Hope a moment. She stares at Landon, her eyes wide, surprise written all over her face at the statement and its implications. 

Landon gives her a look - one that tells her that _yes,_ that’s exactly what she understood. Hope looks at Lizzie again, and then back at Landon.

“You really didn’t hear this from me, if anyone - and I mean Josie - asks.” Landon rushes out.

Hope nods, trying to school her expression, but her eyes are wide and she’s practically vibrating in her seat - Landon thinks she might wolf out right here. He frowns. 

“Are you okay? Please don’t turn into a wolf here. I haven’t gotten my dessert yet and Miss Lucy said it's my favorite. Hey! Where are you going?” 

“To tell Lizzie I know about her diary,” Hope answers in a rush, already on her way to follow the blonde out of the dining hall, and Landon has about five seconds to watch her run before his entire being fills with dread when he hears Josie’s voice behind him.

“She knows _what_ , Landon?!”

Landon winced. 

_Damn it,_ he thinks. _And all he really wanted was to enjoy his dinner._

-

Lizzie stares at Hope for a minute, her brain trying to process the influx of information that the auburn haired girl had dumped on her as soon as she had stopped her in the vacant hallway. 

“Landon told you _what?_ ”

That _goddamn_ Hobbit - 

“It’s not his fault, Josie told him and he told me -”

“Josie told him about my diary entry?!” Lizzie screeched. She was going to _kill -_

“Lizzie!” Hope called her name in exasperation, “It doesn’t matter how I know or who told me. What matters is... um, well. Are you dating Sebastian?”

Lizzie stares at Hope - truthfully, she’s still hung up on the fact that she apparently can’t trust her twin sister anymore, and that Landon had once told her that she can’t keep her mouth shut when it was the exact opposite, but - “What?”

“Do you... like Sebastian? Like, for real, I guess.” 

“Are you asking me if I’m still hooking up with Sebastian because I actually like him or because of... _you know._ ” 

God, her life was so fucking _weird._

Hope nods, her eyes staring right into Lizzie’s soul. There’s that look - that’s the look Hope had given her many times before, but had gained more depth and power after they had been stuck on that videogame together. The look that makes Lizzie be way too honest, even if they already knew the truth, anyway.

“No,” She says, her voice soft and vulnerable and everything that Lizzie felt inside but didn’t show. This is definitely not how she wanted to face her feelings, not being literally attacked with them because of a blabbermouth elf, but, well - it is what it is, she guesses. Could’ve been worse.

Hope nods. “Okay, good.” 

“Why is it good?” Lizzie frowns, confused. She really didn’t expect this to go in this direction - genuinely, whenever Lizzie pictured this conversation, Hope would be mid-vomit right about now. But instead, Hope has a small smile on her face. 

“Because,” Hope says, raising her hand and tucking a stand of blonde hair behind Lizzie’s ear as she says, “we are going on a date tomorrow, and it would really suck if you were interested in my male, taller, less powerful doppelganger and not me.” 

Lizzie blinks. Hope smiles and winks and says, “I’ll meet you by your car at 7PM, please don’t be late.” before she walks away.

The taller girl smiles widely when she processes what had just happened.

Well.

She guesses Landon and Josie could be forgiven. _On her terms._

And if the date went well.

_Date. She was going on a date with Hope Mikaelson._

She squealed and then tried to school her expression. _Be cool, Saltzman. Be cool._

Fine. Maybe Josie and Landon were already forgiven.

(But they were on thin fucking ice.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy :-) find me at @eviegrimhildes on tumblr!!


	5. it's been with you since you were born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello! soooo, this turned out WAY more character introspective-y than i had planned, and umm I DEFINITELY loaded up this one with personal headcanons, the main one being that PEDRO IS BONNIE'S SON AND I'M RIGHT. 
> 
> also, i'm such a goner for pedro/lizzie, like i think they're literally the cutest dynamic on the show and i just felt like i needed to write something about it lmao. this isn't like 100% and i don't think it's very cohesive but hopefully you guys like it??

_**it's been with you since you've been born** _

(i'm good by the mowgli's)

When Pedro is born, it takes Lizzie about three weeks to work up the nerve to hold him. Josie has held him, of course. Practically as soon as she’d seen him, even. And Josie tells her that it’s fine, that she’ll be okay, _ that he’s as light as he looks - she can do it! _ , but Lizzie isn’t wholly convinced. 

He’s very tiny. His hair is thin and dark, but it’s still the most hair that her mom has ever seen on a newborn, Caroline had told her. His eyes are wide and they look exactly like Aunt Bonnie’s - not just one color exactly, but a mix of a few colors, and they’re warm and deep and Pedro looks up at her with these curious eyes that just overwhelm Lizzie with the feeling of needing to protect this kid, even if that meant that she could never hold him - she’s read about how babies being dropped could eventually lead up to awful consequences on their psyche. And yeah, maybe rummaging around her mother’s forgotten college books wasn’t exactly the best for a young girl such as the blonde, but Lizzie has  _ questions _ and Josie said that the books always have  _ answers _ .

Anyway.

Pedro is tiny, and she’s clumsy, sometimes, and she can’t - won’t - hurt him. 

Eventually, aunt Bonnie sits with her and helps her get in the right position and softly deposits her son into her arms. She tells her to be watchful of his little head, and Lizzie is concentrating so hard into not dropping him or making any sudden movements that could hurt him that she’s frowning, and Pedro is looking up at her with those doe eyes, curiosity and peace written all over his face. 

Suddenly, his eyes become droopy and soon enough, he’s fast asleep, and Bonnie chuckles.

“I think you just siphoned him to sleep.”

Lizzie looks down at her arms, and they’re fading from the red glow that usually appears when she’s borrowing some magic from other beings. She looks up at Bonnie with wide eyes.

“I didn’t mean to -”

“It’s okay, baby,” Bonnie tells her with that soft, sweet voice that Lizzie has grown so accustomed to, “I know. You’re fine, and he’s fine. See?”

The blonde looks down again and studies him quietly - he looks fine. And she’s fine. Actually, she’s pretty good. She’s happy because Pedro’s asleep and at peace and she hasn’t hurt him.

They’re fine.

-

When Pedro starts at Salvatore School, Lizzie doesn’t leave his side for a second. She sits with him for every meal, she meets him at his dorm, she walks him to his classes and her heart literally aches when she has to leave him alone. He glances back at her from inside the classroom and waves and she waves back and Josie tells her that  _ he’s going to be fine, Liz, and you’ll see him soon.  _

It’s not that Lizzie doesn’t trust the teachers to take care of him. She’s just… well, whenever she’s put into a room with people she doesn’t know and she doesn’t have Josie, it feels bad. It feels lonely. And it hurts her to think about Pedro feeling that way because he doesn’t have her or Josie around - as far as she’s aware, they are pretty much the only people Pedro really knows in the school. She just doesn’t want him to be alone, is all.

But Pedro can never really be alone. Lizzie should’ve known. Pedro can make friends with just about anything. Everyone loves Pedro. And Pedro loves everyone. Lizzie thinks that Josie and Pedro are very alike in that sense - they see the good in people. They believe that anyone can be a friend, that they deserve a chance. And maybe a second chance. Maybe even a third. (And she guesses that that’s why they are maybe two of the most important people in her life.  _ Anyone _ can be  _ her _ . And if  _ they _ think that she’s worth it, then, well. Maybe she is.) 

Pedro makes friends really easily. Soon enough, he’s having his meals with his friends, and he tells her she doesn’t need to walk him today because he’s walking with his friends. And well, Lizzie’s at a cross. 

Pedro is fine. He’s  _ fine _ . 

She’s happy because Pedro is surrounded by friends and he’s safe and he smiles at her and tells her that they can still hang out later, though. But at the same time -

Well, things have been getting a little bad and sometimes Lizzie feels like there’s a lot to be felt and a lot to be thought about and walking Pedro to class was one of the only things anchoring her. And then she thinks that it’s not fair to put all of that weight on something so small that Pedro really never signed up for - it’s kind of tricky, but she repeats to herself that Pedro is  _ fine _ , so she’s bound to be fine as well eventually.

_ Right?  _

-

Pedro is turning 7, and Lizzie spends the whole week planning his birthday party. Aunt Bonnie is helping, of course, and Jeremy has been coming in and out of the Salvatore School with the things that Lizzie had asked for from the town. Her mother had confided in her that Jeremy and Bonnie were kind of seeing each other again, and Jeremy was trying his hardest to show Bonnie without actually saying it that he’s in for the long run - hence the doing favors for the littlest Bennett witch’s birthday party. Lizzie thinks it’s cute. Pedro seems to like Jeremy just fine.

_ (“He can lift me up pretty high,” Pedro tells her while they’re making sandwiches one night. “And he make real good sandwiches.” _

_ “Better than mine?” Lizzie asks with a side-eye. She half means it. _

_ “Never,” Pedro giggles.) _

Landon and Pedro are playing around on the garden while Lizzie and Josie sit with the checklists for tomorrow’s preparation day when there’s a shout from Landon and Pedro is saying  _ oh, no!  _ in a panicked tone. 

Lizzie and Josie share a scared look before they stand from the chairs they’re sitting in and run towards the corner of the garden that Landon had placed the trampoline for him and Pedro to play in while the twins plan and prepare and find an amusing - to Lizzie - and horrifying - to Josie - scene before them. Landon is sitting on the ground, hugging his knee to his chest with the biggest expression of pain on his face, and Pedro is kneeling in front of him, murmuring what the twins recognize as healing spells, his eyes closed and his tiny hands settled on top of Landon’s on the older curly haired boy’s knee. 

“What happened?” Josie asks her boyfriend. Landon looks up, his face clearing up from the pain as Pedro continues his quiet chanting.

“I fell trying to do a flip and hit my knee.” Landon tells her, somewhat embarrassed, and Lizzie snorts while Josie tries to hide her smile. “You can laugh.”

Josie smiles and kneels down by Pedro’s side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Landon smiles, “Little man right here knew exactly what to do.” 

Pedro grins at Landon and Lizzie has to admit - they are pretty cute. But still -

“Pedro, are you okay?” 

Pedro looks up at her, and his eyes are warm and happy and amused at his older friend’s clumsy ways, clearly, because he says, “Yes, I’m fine, Lizzie. Good thing I was here, Landon was going to start  _ crying _ .” 

Landon pushes him lightly on the shoulder when the twins laugh but he’s smiling too - and Lizzie loves, loves,  _ loves _ Pedro. He’s fine, and he’s a healer, and she’s not exactly fine, at least just yet, but she will be. 

She has Pedro. How could she not be?

-

Pedro is maybe the first person to know that she’s in love with Hope Mikaelson.

And it wasn’t because she’d told him they were dating, or because Hope had started joining their midnight snack times either. 

He tells her that he knew it way back when, when she’d told him that she needed to talk and went off on a tangent about weird dreams and confusion and Hope. 

When she tells him that she’s dating Hope while they’re having ice cream by the lake, Pedro’s school shirt and tie protected by a piece of paper towel that Lizzie had grabbed from the kitchen for this purpose only, matching Lizzie’s, he tells her that he’d figured it was bound to happen soon.

( _ “I’m young, Lizzie, but I’m not stupid.” _ )

Lizzie thinks that’s fair - Pedro has always been some sort of silent watcher, in a way. Plus, her mom had told her that sometimes it’s like Pedro is Bonnie all over again, and she had said a few times that Bonnie sometimes knew things about her before she even knew them herself. So, it tracks. 

And Pedro and Hope get along really well. They already did, before. Pedro tells her that he really likes Hope, that Hopes gives him sweets and helps him with spells and sometimes when he needs help with History homework she’ll sit with him and help him do it. And that makes Lizzie feel really warm inside - because Pedro likes Hope, and Hope likes Pedro, and Lizzie loves them both so much that she thinks her heart will burst out of her chest whenever she sees Hope leaning down to help Pedro tie his shoelaces because he’s holding a lot of books in his arms. 

And they have snacks together, and Pedro and Hope laugh and smile and tease her and when Lizzie stays silent for too long and just watches, Hope notices and looks up and with warm, curious, peaceful eyes and frowns curiously, and then Pedro is looking up at her with those eyes, the same look he’s always given her, since the day she first held him in her arms, and he’s asking, “Are you okay, Liz?” and Lizzie smiles softly. 

_ (“You’re fine, and he’s fine. See?” Bonnie had told her with a smile.) _

The blonde looks at the two people before her quietly - they’re fine. And she’s fine. 

Actually, she’s pretty good. She’s happy and at peace and things have been just fine for a while now and Lizzie likes it the best when things are just like that -

_ Fine. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy! find me @ eviegrimhildes on tumblr, let's be friends and talk legacies hcs. :')


	6. just one touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello! this is kinda silly but i had a thought and my hand slipped, just like lizzie's :)

_**just one touch.** _

(title from touch by little mix)

So.

Before you go any further, Lizzie would like to make it very clear: it was an accident. 

Like, it really was. Yes, sure, maybe she has looked before. Maybe it’s hard not to look - and yes, maybe,  _ maybe _ , she’s had thoughts - and, um, dreams, on two separate occasions - of this…  _ accident,  _ even though in her thoughts and dreams they weren’t, well,  _ accidents. _

And, well, you may be asking yourself, “what the hell was this accident?” and “Is everyone okay?”, because,  _ right?  _ You’d think by the way that Lizzie feels like maybe she might as well have to chop of her hands or something of the sort, she’d  _ had  _ to have done completely absurd. Right?

Well - 

It was more like, mortifying. 

This is how it all started:

A new monster that took on the form of a Cerberus broke out of Malivore and into the Salvatore Boarding School - which, you know,  _ breaking news _ \- and naturally, none of them had any clue of how to fight it - again,  _ big shocker _ \- and her father had sent the teens to scope around the school hallways for any sign of the Cerberus - and, by consequence, had made them all split into teams of two and Josie and Landon had instantly linked their hands as they walked down the hallway, Josie sending Lizzie an apologetic smile for totally blowing her sister off for her boyfriend because  _ fuck Lizzie’s drag, right?  _ and Kaleb had walked off with a strong grip on MG’s arm, not even giving MG a chance to choose a partner. The blonde rolls her eyes when Raf and Jed silently decide to make their way down the hallway together and leave the tallest of the Saltzman twins and the Tribrid alone. 

“Well, good to know everyone else has their own clique going on except for us,” Lizzie mutters, bitter, and Hope snorts.

“Shall we, then?” 

Lizzie nods in agreement and they quietly make their way down the hallway. 

And this is how it happened:

Lizzie and Hope make a turn in the hallway, and it all happens in the blink of an eye - the humongous, horrifying three headed dog is standing at the end of it, its back to them, and Lizzie feel’s her heart drop at the same moment that she feels Hope’s arm enlace her hips and her nails dig into exposed skin as she’s pulled into the nearest unlocked room - which just happens to be a disgusting, dusty janitor’s closet that Lizzie was totally unaware they had in this school - and suddenly they’re standing in the dark, and Lizzie is sure of two things.

One, Hope’s arms are freakishly toned. That’s not surprising - Lizzie expected this. But, well, expecting something and  _ feeling  _ it around you is different. Feeling it, well, because Hope has her arms tight around Lizzie, unconsciously so, apparently, because she doesn’t move them once the door is closed behind Lizzie. 

And two, the closet is  _ super  _ small. Like, she thinks Hope’s hit her head against the shelves behind her and Lizzie’s back is touching the door behind her and the blonde can definitely feel Hope’s breath against her collarbone and Lizzie realizes suddenly that Hope’s shoulders definitely feel softer and way closer than shoulders should be to each other and -

Hold on.

Lizzie pushes against the skin once -

Oh.  _ Oh. _

“Did you realize it yet?” Comes the snarky question, and Lizzie gulps.

“I thought these were your shoulders.” 

“They are not,” Hope states, her tone hard to decipher, “and you’re still grabbing them.”

Lizzie flushes in the dark - remembers Hope can see in the dark and curses mentally - “sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Hope says, and Lizzie thinks she feels Hope’s tribrid heart quicken its beat against her ribcage when Lizzie drags her hands upwards, towards Hope’s  _ actual  _ shoulders. 

There’s a moment of silence, one that’s filled with tension and things that Lizzie and Hope clearly don’t want to say out loud, and the blonde tries not to think about how Hope’s arms feel around her and how low Hope’s hands are actually set on her exposed back - which, well, _ great fucking day to wear a cropped top, Lizzie. _

She licks her lips, and she can’t see it but she feels Hope’s eyes on her, and -

And this is how it turns out:

Lizzie tries to suggest that they might be able to leave, now, but suddenly Hope’s inching up and the smallest girl’s soft, pillowy lips are on hers and Hope’s nails are digging on her smaller back and Lizzie finds that Hope’s back is actually toned, too, because when she drags her hands down she feels every muscle through the blue sweater the girl is wearing. 

The kiss is passionate and heated and fast, as if years of pent up frustration and unnamed feelings had decided to burst out at that exact moment, and minutes have gone by without them parting ways, Hope has Lizzie pushed against the door and her hands on her blonde hair and Lizzie now has one hand on Hope’s back while the other is grasping the girl’s face, part of her brain absolutely going haywire about how sharp Hope’s jawline actually feels against her touch - in contrast to Hope’s --

“I think they’re over here,” they hear MG’s voice outside, and it’s a matter of seconds before MG opens the door that they break apart, the blonde turning around to find their friends and Josie standing outside in the hallway, surprised looks on their faces as they take in the scene before them. 

“What the  _ hell _ -”

“Um, the cerberus -” Hope said, fixing up her outfit that Lizzie had definitely been on her way of removing from her body had they not been interrupted, “we saw it. It was going in that direction -”

“Yes, we know,” Josie interrupted, her expression blank save from the suspicion in her doe eyes, “We caught it like, fifteen minutes ago. We’ve been looking for you guys everywhere.”

“Wait, you did?” Hope asks, her perfect eyebrows meeting each other at the center of her forehead in confusion. 

“Yeah, it was totally adorable, I wish you guys had seen it,” Landon spoke up, his eyes shining as he looked from Hope to his girlfriend, “Josie totally won it over. We’re thinking of calling it Fluffy, like in Harry Potter -”

“Wait, back up. What?” Lizzie stopped his lovesick rambling, raising one hand in the air and turning to her twin, “ _ What? _ ”

Josie rolled her eyes, “Well, basically, Dorian and dad were taking too long, and Landon and I were talking about the cerberus and like, the Harry Potter version of it, and we just… took a shot and tried to make friends with it and play catch outside with a freshman’s bicycle. It worked.” 

“A perfect, winning, awesome shot. You guys, it’s like a giant pup -” MG grinned, clearly as excited about the Malivore monster as Landon was. Kaleb shook his head, a small smile on his face, and Lizzie and Hope shared a look.

“And where is it now?” Hope asks.

“With Raf and Jed while Dr. Saltzman and Dorian try to figure out if it’s safe to keep it,” Kaleb tells the perplexed girls. 

“ _ Keep _ it?” 

“As a mascot,” Kaleb explains, eyeing Landon and MG’s grinning figures in explanation. 

“Right. Why not?” Lizzie says, sarcastically, and Hope chuckles, still a little out of breath.

There’s a moment of silence and then -

“So are we just not going to address the fact that you two were clearly on your way to having sex in that janitor’s closet?” Josie stated in form of question, and the two girls go completely red -

“You know what, I think I hear ‘em calling for us outside. Landon, MG?” Kaleb says, not waiting for a response as he begins to walk, clearly uncomfortable with the situation at hand and Landon and MG practically run after him, Landon tripping on his feet once and getting held up by MG. 

And this is how it ends:

Hope and Lizzie tell Josie that she was imagining things, that they  _ definitely  _ weren’t doing anything of the sort, and Josie tells Hope that she has Lizzie’s lipstick smeared on her lips and that the first button of Lizzie’s high waisted pants is unbuttoned, to which the two girls have no response for, obviously, because Josie was right,  _ of course  _ she was, and,  _ well  _ -

_ That _ , in specific, would be a little harder to write off as an accident, so Lizzie won’t even try.

But the groping thing -  _ that _ was  _ definitely _ an accident. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy!! ♥ find me @ eviegrimhildes on tumblr!


	7. pictures of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dj khaled voice another one!!!!!!!!
> 
> this one was inspired by a prompt sent in by an anon on my tumblr acc :)))

Lizzie is not one to snoop - okay, that’s a total lie, she definitely _is_ one to snoop, but she likes to think that she at least _tries_ not to. But, well - we all have our moments.

And in her defense, it’s not her fault that Hope had forgotten her window open and the strong wind had made the fabric covering the painting Hope was working on to drop to the floor and reveal the beautiful - and extremely surprising - painting of herself that seemed to be just about finished. 

Lizzie stared at the painting in surprise, feeling a flush of red run to her cheeks as she stood up from the Tribrid’s bed, where she’d been waiting for the auburn haired girl to return from the kitchen with their snacks for movie time, and walk towards the easel, her eyes wide in wonder.

The painting is of her profile, and Lizzie can’t quite believe in the amount of detail that Hope had put into it - she thinks she can even see the slight freckles on her cheekbones that sometimes come out to play when Lizzie can’t be bothered with foundation. She’s not smiling in the painting - no, she’s just staring off into space, and Lizzie thinks that Hope may have painted that from memory because she totally remembers wearing that outfit a few weeks ago. 

She bites her lips and studies it closer, and once she takes a step forward, she catches sight of something on Hope’s desk that she otherwise wouldn’t have noticed had she not walked closer to it - set on the middle of her desk and surrounded by pencils and art supplies, Hope’s sketchbook laid opened, a big drawing of a wolf staring right back at Lizzie’s curious eyes as the blonde took a few more steps towards the desk. 

She thinks on what she should do - which is definitely cover the painting back and sit back on Hope’s bed and pretend she hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, _but_ -

But Lizzie’s curious heart tells her that actually, she should definitely - _definitely,_ it says - whisper a small spell that makes the pages flow on their own, because if Lizzie doesn’t touch it there’s no crime, really. 

The first few drawings are of the nature and of objects that Lizzie recognizes from around the school, some are of Hope’s family - and Lizzie feels her heart break a little when the beautiful face of one Hayley Marshall stares right back at her for a moment - and some are of their friends. There’s even drawings of Pedro, - which Lizzie definitely wants to ask Hope if she can have them -, and almost all of them date back to the prior year, before Hope had jumped into Malivore. 

The blonde wonders where Hope had hidden this specific sketchbook - she knew that her father had burned all of Hope’s belongings, as asked by the auburn haired girl herself, but this sketchbook seemed to be intact - well, definitely well-loved, as Lizzie had seen that some dates on a few sketches went back to years ago, but still in good form -, and she’s still wondering when she flips to the next page, her hand hovering above the sketchbook, and finds herself staring right into her own eyes, drawn in black ink against soft paper. 

Lizzie glances at the date and finds that that specific drawing is from just a little bit after Miss Mystic Falls, and with her interest peaked, she keeps flipping the pages, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion even more when the more recent the works become, the more she finds herself staring at her own reflection drawn in different ways, from different angles, with more and more detail - until she stops on the last drawing, dated two days ago, with her smiling at something that Hope had not drawn. She gapes, and she’s so out of her element here that she completely forgets that she’d been waiting for Hope’s return, and she jumps when the door closes and Hope’s voice breaks her out of her trance.

“Sorry, I couldn’t find the soda you li- _what are you doing?_ ” 

The blonde turns around, her cheeks red in embarrassment at being caught and _something else_ , and her eyes meet Hope’s panicked ones as the shorter girl takes in the scene before her, hugging the snacks to her chest. 

“I’m - I was just -” Lizzie licks her lips and points to her window, “You forgot your window open.”

Hope walks towards her bed and deposits the snacks on it before she moves towards the window and closes it, trying to avoid Lizzie’s eyes as she walks to the easel and leans down to grab the fabric from the floor. 

“I, um -” Hope is red, now, and Lizzie thinks that it’s extremely adorable and amusing how Hope’s avoiding eye contact, apparently mortified of being exposed like that. “I’m sorry.”

Lizzie frowns, “Why?”

“This… this is creepy. I know. I’m sorry,” Hope apologizes, walking over to the desk and closing her sketchbook, her eyes still not meeting Lizzie’s, “You, um, you weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Hope trails off, glancing at Lizzie and then back down at her sketchbook. She shrugs, “It’s embarrassing.”

“What is?” Lizzie asks, because she genuinely wants to know – Hope’s art is amazing, and half of Lizzie is annoyed about just how fucking good and talented at everything the other girl can be. The other half is, well, flattered that she seemingly is some sort of muse to the Mikaelson girl. 

(And, ironically, Caroline Forbes’ daughter is completely unaware of the similarities her and her mother share when it comes to those charming blue eyed Mikaelsons and their art.)

“I keep drawing you,” Hope mutters, her tone embarrassed and just a hint of grumpy, “I don’t know why. I just - everytime I try to draw something, it just ends up being you. It’s a little irritating, if I’m honest.”

“Wouldn’t be me if it wasn’t,” Lizzie jokes lightly, trying to make this moment less heavy - less tense. Hope chuckles and smiles and Lizzie licks her lips, glancing at the sketchbook and then back at Hope, “They’re really good.” 

“Yeah?” Hope asks, her eyes hopeful, and Lizzie’s smile widens.

“Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re really good. You made me look… I don’t know. Ethereal or something,” Lizzie rolled her eyes at her own choice of words, but there really was no better word to describe it – Hope’s drawings of her brought some sort of ethereal, almost angelic characteristics to her, and the blonde really had been blown away by them - they had an almost dreamy quality to them that Lizzie couldn’t quite figure out. 

“Well,” Hope shrugs, and her eyes are back on the sketchbook as she taps her fingers on top of the hard cover as she says, “I just draw what I see.” 

Lizzie’s eyebrows raise as Hope meets her eyes, and Hope’s usually pale face is now red and Lizzie doesn’t think she’s ever seen Hope this embarrassed before - or embarrassed, period. Hope was always confident and sure of herself, and this had seemed to throw Hope completely off her balance. Lizzie figured that maybe it was because painting seemed to be such a personal thing for the young Mikaelson, and having someone else see them - especially the ones that Lizzie had seen - made her a tad bit… vulnerable.

Lizzie bit her lip for a second and then sighed, “Look, I’m sorry for looking. I shouldn’t have snooped. I’m sorry. But for what it’s worth…. I love the drawings.”

“It’s okay,” Hope gave her a small smile and then it became a grin, “Do you really?”

“Yes!” Lizzie nodded, “Especially the one of Pedro.”

Hope’s full on smiling, now, and Lizzie takes it that the awkwardness has worn off a little. Which is why she feels like she can now say that, “And, you know, I can always model for you. Have you ever done nude drawings?” 

Hope blinks, and then her smile falls and she shoves Lizzie’s shoulder.

“You’re an ass.”

Lizzie grins. “And, judging by the dozens of drawings and the huge painting of me I have just found, you seem to love my ass.”

Hope mumbles something under her breath and Lizzie leans forward.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I _said_ ,” Hope exhales, meeting Lizzie’s teasing eyes, “I have not drawn your ass.”

“Didn’t mean it literally, but either way, that can always change.”

Hope gives her a confused look, and the blonde clarifies.

“I think I’d be amazing at nude modeling,” she shrugs, “That, of course, granted if you buy me dinner first. Being your muse comes with its price.” 

Hope gulps, but one eyebrow raises and she asks, “Is dinner the only price?”

“Well, no, but we can discuss that afterwards,” Lizzie winks, and then she sidesteps Hope and makes her way towards the auburn haired girl’s bed, “So, what movie are we watching again?”

She smirks when she looks at Hope and finds the auburn haired girl gaping at her, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glowing yellow before they turn back to their normal shade of blue. 

So, Lizzie is definitely one to snoop.

And in her defense, it kinda always pays off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy!! find me @ eviegrimhildes on tumblr ♥


	8. and i know she'll be the death of me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear this started out as a joke i shoulda just sat there and ate my food and im sorry :(

_**and i know she'll be the death of me.** _

(title from can't feel my face by the weeknd)

She awakens with a start.

“Oh, thank God you’re awake,” She hears from the corner of her room. She blinks a few times, eyes trying to adjust to the even more heightened sense of vision in a dimly lit space and frowns. 

“Did I just —“ She stops, sits down on her bed and her wide eyes find her girlfriend’s in confusion and somewhat horror. The blonde nods. “Did you —“

“Finish?”

“Tell anyone.” Hope corrects. Lizzie shakes her head. “How long have I been dead?” 

“Like, five hours.” Lizzie shrugs, she stands from the chair at the corner of Hope’s room and sits down on the bed next to the auburn haired girl. Hope notices that Lizzie is now fully dressed and her hair is up in a bun, and that Lizzie had covered Hope’s body by dressing her back with her shirt and pants. “Are you — like, does that mean you’re fully activated now?”

Hope nods, her mind still trying to grasp what had happened — “Well, fuck.” Lizzie says, and Hope can not help but agree with the sentiment. They’re in silence for a while, trying to fully process what had happened, and then Hope speaks up. 

“We need to come up with a story.” 

“Huh?” Lizzie frowns, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean —“ Hope rolls her eyes, licks her lips, feels her cheeks heating up and wonders if she will still be able to blush as a third vampire and states, resolute, “I am  _ not  _ telling people — especially not your  _ dad  _ or my  _ family  _ — that the reason why I am now an activated Tribrid is because you snapped my neck while sitting on my face.” 

Lizzie, on the other hand, fully blushes and Hope feels her throat drying up at the sight of it — oh, well,  _ fuck,  _ that’s right  _ —  _ and nods once.

“Fair enough.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me at @eviegrimhildes on tumblr xx


	9. bewitching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi just a lil drabble inspired by a prompt i got on tumblr. not very good but i'm just tryna get back into writing so! it was a little exercise basically lol

The cinammon scented candles mixed with the sweet vanilla smell of Hope’s preferred perfume creates an overpowering, intoxicating and comforting scent all at once. 

And perhaps that was the reason why Lizzie felt both wired and completely at ease, no matter how paradoxical that in itself was. Maybe the way she’s so completely affected by Hope MIkaelson’s existence in her own room — with the door closed to the outside world, where she allows herself to just exist and just _be_ — and yet completely okay with that fact, comforted by the way her heart beats faster when Hope looks her way or smiles or just _exists_ near her — or, maybe it’s the way Hope is looking at her with her incredibly blue eyes and the prettiest smile Lizzie has ever seen and asks her what has her so silent, maybe that’s what makes her open her mouth and say, honestly and truthfully —

“Your beauty is just bewitching.” 

And _God_ , she’s aware of how that sounds. She’s aware that she sounds like she’s just been booted out of a Emily Dickinson poem, that she’s probably going to regret this when tomorrow comes and the smell of vanilla and cinnamon and the soft glow of Hope’s shiny auburn hair isn’t completely affecting her judgement, but right now she doesn’t care. Right now, she’s giving Hope a grin and her cheeks aren’t rosy just because of whatever drink was in her system from the party she was in just an hour ago. 

Hope blinks, and Lizzie wonders how the hell was it possible that even Hope’s eyelashes were something to be in awe of. 

“Um, thanks?” Hope says, seemingly taken by surprise by her friend’s lack of a filter — which, all things considered, she probably shouldn’t be — and Lizzie realizes that she had said that out loud. 

“You’re welcome,” Lizzie says with a shrug, because she meant it nonetheless. Hope stops her movements on the other side of the room and licks her lips before she bites down on her bottom lip and Lizzie can see clear as day that Hope’s been rendered speechless. 

“Well, um, you’re —” Hope pauses, and Lizzie doesn’t need supernatural eyesight to see the other girl’s pale cheeks turning pink, “You’re really pretty, too.” 

Lizzie grins. “You think so?”

“Dude, yeah,” Hope agrees, maybe a little too fast, and the blonde feels like her heart is taking somersaults in her ribcage, “You know that. I don’t need to tell you that.” 

“True,” Lizzie nods once, and then her grin turns into a full smile, “Do it anyways.”


	10. like you are the light and I will follow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the one in which i'm trying to write at least ONE of the hundreds of AUs i have planned for hizzie but i end up writing this stupid fluff fest that has absolutely no point <3 
> 
> or you know, one of them laughing gas AUs :)

_**Like you are the light and I will follow  
** _

(title from boom clap by charli xcx)

* * *

“Genuinely don’t think I’ve ever hurt this much,” Lizzie whines as her fingertips rub softly at the sore spot a little up her jawline. Anyone could see that the pale girl’s face was slightly swollen in that particular place and there was no makeup that could mask it at that moment. The blonde stops her ministrations because those hurt too, instead of dissuading the pain. She groans.

“You’ve been complaining about that for a few days now…” MG comments, ever the concerned friend, and Lizzie meets his frown with one of her own.

“I know,” She sighs, “Mom is still trying to get me an appointment. My regular dentist is on maternity leave and I literally _do not_ trust anyone else with my teeth,” she makes a face to emphasize her statement and then adds, “Hopefully she’ll be back soon. I don’t know how long maternal leaves usually take.”

Lizzie had been dealing with excruciating pain in her wisdom tooth for about a week now, and it only seemed to get worse as the days went by. She hadn’t been able to eat properly for a few days now, and as the time went on, even speaking proved itself to be particularly challenging, and she was actually _sick_ of having to keep her thoughts from being spoken out loud and from having to keep her diet strictly to softer, lighter foods like she was three years old once again. She never thought she would miss chewing - literally and metaphorically. Not being able to eat actual food was bad, but not being able to chew out Landon for walking too slowly… that was actual hell.

She was honestly ready to rip her tooth out herself, maybe with a fork or a knife - whichever was easiest - and she was absolutely sure that her friends - and especially her twin, Josie - could share the sentiment. 

(Not that Lizzie would _ever_ trust any of them near her teeth, but. 

She knew she was a whiny person.)

“I can’t wait until you get that sorted out. Not only because I’ll finally be able to hear anything else but you whining about it,” Lizzie huffs and Josie continues, a softer tone, “and obviously because you’ll be finally out of your pain, of course, you’re my twin and I swear I’ve been feeling some sort of pain in my own tooth out of our twin bond or whatever, but also because I’ll get to be there to watch you be so high on anesthesia that it’ll make every single moment I’ve spent this last week hearing you whine about it worth it all.” Josie finishes with a smile, and to emphasize her point, she makes a show out of chewing an especially crunchy french fry. Lizzie glares.

“And who said you’re going to be there to see it?”

“I’m your twin. I go everywhere you go. Also, mom told me I could go.” Josie shrugs. 

“Oh shoot, you _have_ to film it, Jo,” MG chuckles, “Those people after dentist videos are _so_ funny -”

“When I had my wisdom tooth removed last year, Kym thought I had lost my mind,” Kaleb recalls, chuckling to himself and shaking his head as he took a sip from his smoothie, “She said I said things she never wanted to hear me saying.” 

“Like what?” Jed asks his boyfriend with a curious look. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, lover boy?” Kaleb winks, and the rest of the table gags in response.

“You guys just ruined lunch,” Alyssa pushes her tray away and MG agrees with a hum. 

“My tooth hurts _more_ now.” Lizzie comments with a groan and Jed chuckles.

“Whatever, y’all are just bitter.” 

“I’ve had mine removed as well,” Hope comments, as if to move the conversation away from Jed and Kaleb’s disgusting couple-y behavior, “Landon was with me. I have no idea what I said, honestly, but Lan has a video of it. I have no recollection of any of it, and he won’t tell me. Says he’s keeping it for leverage,” she finishes, sending the curly haired boy a dirty look. He gives her a grin in response and continues eating his food, obviously not planning on talking until he was done with his sandwich. 

Josie eyed her boyfriend for a second before she glanced at Lizzie with a thoughtful expression and the blonde glared, “Don’t you dare, Josette.”

Josie just uncaps her bottle of water with a small smile and Lizzie groans. 

(Mostly because she knows she’d take anything to make this pain stop — even if that meant humiliating herself in front of her twin while under the influence of anesthesia.)

* * *

It was only a day later when Caroline had informed Lizzie that her dentist had been able to fit her into her schedule, finally being able to return from her newborn-caused hiatus, and after this afternoon, she would _finally_ be able to stop feeling like she was being tortured everytime she so much as breathed. 

Lizzie had her face nestled in her hand when her friends started setting their trays of food on the table and MG sent her a sympathetic look from across the table.

“Still hurts?” 

“Like death,” Lizzie nods, “But at least I’ll finally get it the hell out of my mouth today.” She shares, trying not to smile in relief at her own words. 

“What?” Josie snaps her head in Lizzie’s direction, a frown making its way onto her face, “What do you mean, _today_?” 

“What’s your problem?” Lizzie frowns, her attention leaving her sister for a moment as Hope sat down near her and set a red colored jello cup in front of her with a small smile. Lizzie wants to smile back, but — 

She was fucking tired of jello, to be completely honest. 

“What time?” Josie ignores her question by throwing her own in the mix. 

“At four.” Lizzie answered as Hope helped her with the seal on the jello cup so she wouldn’t have to remove her hand from where it was warming up her own face.

“No! You can’t go today!” The brown haired twin protests and Lizzie looks from Hope’s face to Josie with a frown. Landon chuckles at his girlfriend’s outburst while everyone else watched in amusement as Josie’s reaction served them as a reminder of the fact that the two girls were, in fact, _twins_.

“Why the hell is that, Josette?” 

“I have an important cheerleading practice this afternoon. I’m the captain, I can’t miss it!” Josie says, exasperated, “This is the worst thing you’ve said to me.”

“No it isn’t and that’s very selfish of you, Josie. I’m in pain.” Lizzie scoffs. She knew how much her sister could be dramatic - they were related after all. And for someone who always bragged about being the selfless twin…

“I know _that_ , but what about my video?” Josie enhances her resting pouty face by actually making an effort to pout, and Lizzie rolls her eyes. The rest of the table watched the exchange in amusement — it was very unusual for one to see Josie acting like, well, Lizzie usually did. Seemed almost karmic, in some ways.

“Won’t dignify that with an answer.” Lizzie says, finality in her tone as she turns her attention to the red jello she’d been gifted by Hope. 

“Well, anyway -” Alyssa says after a beat and they fall into easy conversation after that, the group discussing their plans for the weekend while Lizzie was too busy trying to eat without feeling like she was being kicked in the mouth repeatedly every time she so much as opened it a bit.

* * *

“Hope,” Josie calls out to the auburn haired girl, making a light jog towards the other girl who’d been standing in front of her open locker, a book in her hands. 

“Hey, Josie.” Hope answers, closing her book and turning to face Josie, an expectant look on her face. 

“You need to go with Lizzie to the dentist.” Josie states in a way that left no room for arguing. 

But obviously, Hope did it anyway.

“Why would _I_ go?”

“Well, other than the fact that you have this huge, mindblowing, gay angst-y crush on my sister and you would do anything to spend time with her, including dealing with her when she’s under the influence of anesthesia and with blood in her mouth like that one time you literally were the only one stupid enough to actually volunteer to helping Lizzie work on her English project when you _knew_ she was PMSing?” Josie grins, a knowing look on her face as she finishes her mini-rant and Hope gapes, her cheeks flushing red.

“That’s -” Hope stutters, “I don’t -”

_How the hell would Josie even know any of that?_

The answer came just as quickly.

_Fucking Landon Kirby, that’s how._

Hope frowns. She knew Landon and Josie shared just about _everything_ with each other, but _this_ was _ridiculous_ -

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t like her that way and whatever, save it.” Josie waves her stuttered protests away, “Plus, I need you to get that video for me and MG is far too chicken to do it. And Alyssa is way too aggressive to not actually get Lizzie in like, legal trouble when vulnerable. So, you’re obviously the best option I have at the moment.”

Hope arches an eyebrow, “So this is all about that video?”

“This video would be such a _game changer_ , Hope! Lizzie has so much dirt on me. Like, the time she filmed me singing along to What Does The Fox Say in the shower when I thought I was home alone and I just know she’s just waiting for our birthday to post that —”

“What the _fuck_ is What Does The Fox Say?” Hope interrupts with a confused frown. Josie stops mid sentence and rolls her eyes at Hope’s question.

“Swear to God, you’re actually a hundred years old. Anyway, that’s not my point. The _point_ is… if you go, you’ll be doing something for the greater good. Isn’t that your thing? And, obviously, you’d get to spend some extra-curricular time with your dear, _dear_ Lizzie…”

Hope bites her bottom lip. 

“I mean, I do guess it’s only fair you get an embarrassing video to post on you guys’ birthday…” 

“Uh-huh, because _that’s_ the reason why you’re considering it,” Josie smiles knowingly. Hope flushes. “So you’ll go?”

Hope sighs and nods, “I’ll ask if I can go.”

“Yes!” Josie fist bumps the air and Hope shakes her head.

She would never understand the Saltzman Twins’ dynamic, not really. 

* * *

Hope left her car after she parked in front of the Forbes-Salvatore’s house and smiled nervously as she walked up the path to the big house and checked the time to see if she wasn’t too late, sighing in relief when she realized she was just on time.

She knocks on the door twice and hears a commotion from the other side before the door opens and Caroline Forbes stands in front of her, a warm smile taking over her features as she sees Hope. 

“Hope! It’s so good to see you!” She greets in her patented Caroline Forbes enthusiasm and Hope smiles more easily this time. Her own parents and the Twins’ have been friends for ages, which meant that Hope and the girls grew up around each other and visited each other’s houses often — and Caroline and her husband, Stefan, the twins’ step-father, were always kind to her. “I’m afraid Lizzie and I are about to leave, though.”

Hope nods, “That’s actually why I’m here. I was wondering if it was okay for me to tag along?” She asks, twisting her hands together in front of her body nervously, trying not to break under Caroline’s confused smile. The older woman nods after a moment, aware of Hope and Lizzie’s best friends status. She just didn’t think they were on tagging-along-to-the-doctor kind of friends. 

“Lizzie is already waiting in the car. She’s been impatient about going since she’s come home from school,” Caroline shakes her head, her tone filled with fondness for her blonde daughter and Hope smiles softly. “Why don’t you go ahead and wait with her while I go grab my purse?” Caroline offers, nodding towards the side of the house with an easy smile and Hope nods once, turning around quickly and jogging up the driveway and making her way towards the car she knew was Caroline’s. She opens the back seat door and quickly sits down on the leathered seat. 

She smiles sheepishly at Lizzie when the girl turns around with a confused look on her face.

“Hope?” Lizzie twists her body in the passenger seat so she could take a better look at the other girl, her confused look turning into a curious smile.

“Hey, Lizzie.” Hope greets her back. She was actually glad that Lizzie couldn’t hear the sound of her heart beating faster and faster, like it always did whenever she was in near vicinity of the blonde. 

“Not that I’m not happy to see you,” Lizzie starts and Hope feels warm, “but why exactly are you here?”

“Josie.” Hope tells her with a small smile and Lizzie rolls her eyes, putting two and two together. 

“Obviously.” She turns back around and sits back as her mother enters the car. 

Lizzie makes to turn on the radio and Caroline sighs. 

“What?” Lizzie asks, affronted, and her mother rolls her eyes. 

“You know what. I’m not listening to your One Direction playlist again. Between your 1D fixation and Josie’s K-POP phase, I don’t know how I haven’t actually crashed this car before.”

“Says _you_ , Katy Perry enthusiast.” 

“What’s wrong with Katy Perry?!” 

“Nothing. Just like nothing’s wrong with One Direction. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Lizzie turns up the radio and Hope chuckles under her breath when Caroline groans as the intro to a song that was only vaguely familiar to Hope kicks in. Lizzie heard her quiet laugh and turned her head slightly towards her, sending her a small wink, causing Hope to flush. 

The twenty minute long car ride then was spent with Lizzie humming along to the songs, making her mother chuckle and Hope having to stop herself from swooning at the sound of Lizzie’s voice because there wasn’t anything Lizzie Saltzman wasn’t good at and Hope could honestly hear Lizzie sing about just _anything_.

When they arrived, Lizzie was quickly ushered to the dentist’s office and Hope made herself comfortable in the waiting room area, fishing out her phone from her jacket to pass the time as she waited for the blonde girl’s procedure to be done. Caroline was at the front desk filling out some forms for Lizzie while she chatted away with the receptionist and Hope sighed — the things she did for her friends.

* * *

About an hour later, Lizzie’s dentist left her office room to inform the procedure was done and Caroline could come in to see her daughter. The blonde woman motioned for Hope to follow her and they both made their way towards the room the younger blonde was in. 

When they entered the room, Hope couldn’t help but burst into laughter as she caught sight of the blonde girl — the blonde was completely sprawled out, her arms hanging limply off the sides of the chair, and her mouth was open and her cheeks were puffy; she almost looked like a blonde, tall chipmunk. Caroline chuckled along with Hope, muttering something about Lizzie looking completely out of it. 

A part of Hope was kind of glad that Josie wasn’t here right now — she knew the blonde’s twin would’ve taken at least thirty pictures of her sister in this situation, and that seemed a bit too cruel. 

The girl’s dentist came back in again and told Caroline that everything had gone perfectly well and explained to her the healing process and what to expect during recovery. Hope was mindful to pay attention to it, knowing that Lizzie would probably try and bend her mother’s orders to not eat anything that could hinder the recovery process. 

Then, the dentist informed them that Lizzie would probably be out of it for another half an hour or so, but she’d start gaining some of her senses back soon enough. She asked Caroline to follow her outside to the front desk to get the prescriptions for the medicine her daughter would need and Caroline begins to follow after the doctor, only stopping at the doorway to turn to Hope with a small smile on her face.

“You okay waiting here with her for a few minutes?” She asks gently and Hope nods quickly. 

“I’ll keep an eye on her, don’t worry.” Hope smiles, and Caroline nods once and leaves the two girls alone, closing the door behind her.

After about two minutes in silence with Hope just creepily watching Lizzie, the blonde girl groans and Hope panics. Should she call for help? Was Lizzie in pain? Was she supposed to be feeling any pain at all? She frowns as she watches the taller girl groan again and reach up to touch her mouth, making the auburn haired girl step forward to stop her with a panicked look on her face once Lizzie blindly goes to remove the gauze. 

“Liz, you can’t remove it.” She tells the other girl, grabbing her hand and trying not to think too much about it.

“Why not?” Lizzie asks, her eyes still closed. Then, she lazily blinks her eyes open and looks around the room in confusion before her blue irises find Hope.

“You can’t remove the gauze in your mouth. In fact, you shouldn’t touch your mouth like, at all.” Hope warns her slowly, making sure that Lizzie was listening to her. She thinks this is super ironic, because she knew that the blonde would have hit her if she had been in her right senses for talking to her like she was a child.

“My mouth…” Lizzie trails off and groans again. She makes a move to touch her mouth again and Hope reacts quickly, taking her hand back in hers and this time holding it tightly between her own. Lizzie’s hand was cold but soft and Hope was sure that she was flushing. 

“What’s this in my mouth?” Lizzie questions, holding up her free hand to touch her mouth curiously and Hope sighs before she grabs the other hand as well, now holding on to both of Lizzie’s hands softly. 

“It’s a gauze.” Hope repeats, somewhat amused. She knew that she was constantly amused by the other girl — and she was maybe one of the only people in the world who would actually use the word ‘adorable’ to describe the taller Saltzman twin, but she really doesn’t think anyone would argue that Lizzie’s pout was anything else _but_ extremely adorable, right now.

“Why is that in my mouth?” 

“Because you had your wisdom teeth removed.” 

Lizzie frowns. “Are you my doctor?” She asks, her words slurring in confusion and Hope chuckles.

“I’m your friend.” 

“‘Kay,” Lizzie sighs, and then she groans again, “My mouth feels weird.”

“I know,” Hope nods, smiling softly at the loopy blonde in front of her.

“It hurts too,” She whines, “It’s been hurtin’ for _soooo_ long. I can’t wait ‘til I remove it.”

“You already removed it, Lizzie,” Hope reminds her, “That’s why it feels like that.”

“Oh.” Lizzie nods once. “I feel like I’m floating. Am I floating?”

“Nope, you’re very much seated.” 

“Mm, okay,” Lizzie doesn’t sound convinced. She lolls her head from side to side and Hope had to stop herself from actually ‘aw’ing the girl out loud, even if the blonde would not remember it afterwards. She just wouldn’t be able to live with herself.

“Don’t move too much, Lizzie. You could feel sick.” Hope warns her softly. Lizzie stops her movements and then nods, as if to test out Hope’s warning. Hope shakes her head; even when she’s out of it Lizzie has to put people’s words to test. 

“I really want some brownies right now,” Lizzie says suddenly. Hope raises an eyebrow at the subject change. “I _love_ brownies. Did ya know that?”

“Yes, I did know that.” Hope chuckles, remembering suddenly she should probably try to get Josie’s video started. She fishes her phone out of her back pocket and opens the camera app, switching it to video quickly and pressing the red record button as she focuses it on Lizzie.

“What is that?”

“My phone.” 

“Oh, okay.” Lizzie nods, as if to reassure herself that she wasn’t in any danger. Hope chuckles softly. 

“Know what else, friend?” Lizzie asks suddenly, a pout making its way on her face. Hope was starting to get a little confused at the constant subject changes, but she didn’t mind it terribly when she had front row seats to maybe the cutest version of Lizzie Saltzman yet.

“What?” She prompts.

“I miss Hope,” Lizzie sighs, and Hope holds her breath in surprise. Lizzie missed her. Her heart speeds up a bit against her chest.

“You do?” 

“Yeah. Where’s Hope?” She pouts.

Hope was about to tell her that she was right there when she remembers the video and smirks as an idea starts to form in her mind, “She’s probably training.”

“Oh, right. She’s always training. She works so hard,” Lizzie sighs before she grins, “She looks really good, though. ‘Specially when she trains.”

“You think?” Hope asks, flushed cheeks and a silly grin on her face.

“Mm,” Lizzie nods once, still grinning to herself, “She’s like… the prettiest girl in the world, isn’t she? Jo makes fun of me all the time.” She shares. 

Hope can’t help the goofy grin that makes its way into her face, “Does she?” 

“Yeah,” Lizzie nods. “Jo is annoying like that. But I just… like Hope. Like, _like_ her. A lot.”

“ _What?_ ” Hope squeaks out, her jaw dropping. She almost drops her phone as well, but she’s happy to report that she’d been able to get a better hold of it before it could fall. “What - what did you just say?” 

“Mm? What did I say?” Lizzie frowns in confusion. Hope groans internally. Of fucking course she would’ve already moved on from the subject.

“About Hope. What did you say about Hope?” She tries anyway, hoping the prompting would jog her memory back to their prior conversation.

“She’s really pretty.” Lizzie says again.

“No, um - I mean… uh, do you like - do you like Hope?” Hope manages to ask, feeling completely ridiculous but needing to hear it again.

“Yeah, a lot. And she's my best friend.” Lizzie states simply, as if Hope had just asked her if the sky was blue or if water was wet. Just a simple fact about herself that she just didn’t mind sharing if asked. 

Hope just honestly could not wrap her head around it, so she asks, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Lizzie sighs. She whines in pain once again and is about to reach for her mouth again with the hand that Hope had freed so she could film her but after chancing a look at the auburn haired girl, she sheepishly brings her hand back to her lap.

“I want ice cream.” Lizzie says, a dreamy expression on her face.

“You can get some later,” Hope tells her, eager to just go back to questioning Lizzie about her feelings. She knew it was dumb to expect Lizzie to be able to focus on one subject right now, but she was just honestly desperate to fully confirm that her feelings for the blonde girl were not one-sided. So she licks her lips and tries again, “So… about your feelings for Hope?” At Lizzie’s hum, she continues, “What do you mean when you say you like her?” she asks quietly, willing her heart to behave. She would’ve been embarrassed about this if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d been harboring a crush she’d convinced herself was one-sided for about two years now.

“She’s pretty. And nice,” Lizzie trails off, “Well, she’s not nice. But she’s like… good. She always takes care of me. And she smells like… like flowers. All the time.”

Hope wasn’t fully expecting Lizzie to elaborate on that, especially not like that, but it had confirmed what she had been thinking — she blushed, more convinced by the second that Lizzie returned her feelings.

And before she could convince herself to take this win and walk away with her pride and self-respect unscathed from knowing that she had been interrogating Lizzie while she was under the influence, she asks, feeling her cheeks burn at each word that leaves her mouth, “But do you like… want to kiss her, and stuff?” 

_No one_ could ever watch this video, that much was clear. 

“Oh, yeah, a _lot_ ,” Lizzie nods, eager, and smiles widely. “She has the prettiest lips.” She sighs dreamily, and Hope honestly felt like she was going to pass out. Thankfully, for her heart and her self respect, Caroline chose that moment to return. Hope quickly stopped recording the video and shoved it back in her pocket, giving Caroline a small sheepish smile.

“Oh, look who’s back in the land of living,” Caroline laughs when she notices her daughter was awake. 

“Are you my doctor?” Lizzie questions, frowning up at her mother. 

“Jesus, how much anesthesia did you need?” The older blonde frowns, before she gives her daughter an amused smile. “And no, I’m your mother.”

“ _Ohhh, right_. I remember you now.” Lizzie nods a few times and then stops, making a little pained face that makes Hope want to hold her close. Lizzie then looks from her mother to Hope and then back to the older woman, “Mom, do you know my friend?”

“Yes, baby, I know your friend Hope. She came with us.”

“No, mom, Hope is in school.” Lizzie frowns, as if she thought her mother to be silly and Hope feels the dread pooling into the pit of her stomach. 

“Right, yeah, if you say so,” Caroline rolls her eyes, amused, and Hope thanks every god she can think of for the fact that the older blonde didn’t feel the need to argue this much further. “Ready to go?” 

Lizzie nods and allows her mother to help her up. She still doesn’t have much control over her body, a big difference from the ever graceful way Lizzie usually carried herself with her perfect posture, and Hope quickly ushered to her other side to help Caroline with walking the girl out of the room. Lizzie’s comments about everything and anything around them were highly amusing, as per usual, but Hope still couldn’t manage to laugh as she normally would, her entire system still so shocked from the information she had learned today from Lizzie herself.

She couldn’t think of what to do — should she bring it up later? Or should she act like she didn’t know anything and that Lizzie felt the same way about her? What in the ever living fuck could she even _say_ ? 

Soon enough they were in the car again and Caroline had been chuckling softly as Lizzie rambled away about one thing or another, and Hope stayed silent the whole time, her thoughts running wild with whatever options she could come up with. Lizzie wasn’t in her right mind, she couldn’t possibly bring it up later because Lizzie would definitely not remember it. She knew exactly how this felt, having gone through the same thing herself. What if Lizzie rejected her? What if she made a complete fool of herself by admitting she had gotten all of that information out of the girl? 

She waved Caroline and Lizzie goodbye when they got back to the Salvatore residence, ignoring Caroline’s knowing look when she quickly deposited a kiss on Lizzie’s cheek against her better judgment and walked towards her own car. 

Hope wondered if Caroline knew what the hell she was supposed to do.

* * *

The next day during lunch, Lizzie was still whining a bit about the pain but it wasn’t as bad as before. She was still definitely upset about having to eat only soft foods for another week, though. 

“So, Hope, you totally ignored my text but that’s okay. Did you get the video?” Josie asked as soon as she sat down, her brown eyes shining in excitement. Landon chuckles at his girlfriend and Lizzie looks from Josie to Hope nervously. Hope meets her eyes for a second, feels like she’d just been busted, and then she looks at Josie. She couldn’t possibly show that video to Josie. Or anyone. It was too embarrassing. 

For her. Not Lizzie, particularly. 

So she shakes her head slowly, giving the other girl an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Jo. My phone went out of battery.”

Josie groans and facepalms, “Fuck, I knew I should’ve insisted on MG.” 

MG chuckles and Lizzie gives Hope a look, making the auburn haired girl feel nervous under her gaze.

It was as if Lizzie was looking for something in her eyes. _Could she remember…?_

She breaks eye contact with the other girl and turns her attention to her food, trying not to overthink it too much. She had decided last night — after discussing it with her mother and definitely watching the video _at least_ twenty times — that she would wait for Lizzie to bring it up again. If Lizzie really meant what she had said, then she trusted that they would eventually work it out between them. Hope had waited two years; she didn’t mind waiting a while longer. 

She did, after all, have an extremely embarrassing but also disgustingly cute video to watch whenever she felt like it while she waited for Lizzie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy! <3


	11. uninvited guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello!! just a lil drabble while i work on another chap for the tatbilb au djjsadd this one is inspired on the otp prompt: I come home and find your cat in my sink after I get home from work.
> 
> hope u like this <3

Hope Mikaelson has had a really long day.

To start off, she had overslept - which never really fucking happens because Hope is one to wake up with the sun and being found in the early hours of the morning either jogging through the town of Mystic Falls or in the gym, lifting weights three times her size and doing it effortlessly, but had happened today, the one day she had an important meeting about her soon-to-be opened gallery first thing in the morning.

And then, obviously, the meeting had been postponed to lunchtime when Hope hadn’t shown up at the time they had initially agreed on - which meant that Hope had not had the opportunity to have lunch, and by consequence, was left _starving_ and _incredibly moody._

(Landon, her best friend, would later argue that those are basically Hope’s default moods, anyway, so not like it was a big change from her normal schedule. Hope would stop answering his texts for an hour after that.)

And to make it all _way_ worse, Hope’s time of the month had arrived, and to add to her already shitty mood, she was now experiencing nothing short of complete vengeance for the world and the people in it.

So, you know. Long story short, she was simply _not_ in a good mood.

So, at 7PM that night, when she walks into her apartment, she throws her keys on the jar next to the door and throws her purse on the floor, the action followed by carelessly kicking her shoes off and all but practices for a long-throw Olympic competition when she removes her coat and flings it across the room. 

(She was never really known for tidiness or organization, to be fair, but the coat hanging precariously on the floor lamp could probably be considered a new low.) 

Hope makes her way to the kitchen, desperate for something to drink and literally _anything_ to eat, her hands massaging her temples before she puts her hair up in a lazy bun. 

She stops in her tracks, though, when she turns the lights on and is met with the sight of a black kitten sitting on the counter near her kitchen sink, looking up at her with its dark eyes and meowing up at her as if he’d been waiting for Hope to come home.

She frowns.

“Who the hell are you?” She asks, her exhaustion winning over her and making her forget that cats don’t actually speak.

She steps forward, eyes studying the furball on her kitchen counter; it didn’t look violent, and the light purple collar around its neck told Hope that this wasn’t a stray kitten. It was probably from someone in the building. Hope turns around and checks the balcony slide doors and - yep. Open.

She sighs, right hand meeting her temple again as she reprimands herself for forgetting to close it the prior night. 

Then, she exhales and begins to figure out what she should probably do next. 

Here’s the thing, though - Hope is definitely not the biggest fan of cats. Well, she doesn’t actively _hate_ them, but they seem to _always_ hate _her._ It’s almost as if the tiny feline creatures could tell that Hope held bigger affections for dogs. Anyway.

First, she should definitely remove the cat from the counter. That’s where she puts like, her food and stuff, and that’s definitely not sanitary. So. Yeah. Removing the cat it is. She makes quick work of grabbing the tiny creature and smiles instinctually when it purrs at being held. She runs a finger over its little head softly and puts it down. She washes her hands next and wonders what’s next.

Was it hungry?

Hope wasn’t exactly sure what cats ate, to be honest, so she frowns down at the small creature for a moment before she shrugs and opens the fridge, studying its contents for something she had seen cats eat before on television. (Frozen lasagnas were definitely a _no_ , right?)

She barely has food for _herself,_ because 1) she has definitely eaten most of it, because, as Landon called it, she had the appetite of himself when he was going through puberty as a tween; and 2) why would she do grocery shopping when there’s like, actual restaurants all around her that could deliver her the food ready to eat? So. No food.

“Are you hungry?” She asks the kitten. The kitten meows at her, probably calling her stupid in kitten-speak for thinking it would actually answer her, and Hope shakes her head and closes her fridge. She grabs her phone and opens the food delivery app to put in an order at the nearby restaurant for her own dinner.

After her own dinner is taken care of, Hope leans down and grabs the tiny kitten again, noting that it was a _him_ \- or, you know, whatever it identified as, she supposes? - and walks him to the balcony of her apartment. His dark eyes meet her blue ones and she pets his head once more before she sets him down on the balcony floor and closes the door.

“Go home, little guy,” She says from the other side of the glass door and she chuckles when the cat meows at her once before it jumps to the next apartment’s balcony.

Hope shakes her head and makes her way to the bathroom, ready to have her much needed shower before her food got there. She chuckles to herself when she realizes that her small uninvited guest had certainly uplifted her spirits a bit.

She can’t help then but wonder who was its owner.

* * *

It had been four days since the night Hope had come home to find the kitten when he showed up again.

It had been a warm day in Mystic Falls; Hope’s AC in the living room was broken (because God likes to test her limits, it seemed), and the young Mikaelson heir had left the balcony door open during the night, in hopes that it would bring in some ventilation to her apartment’s living room. 

So, naturally, at 2AM, Hope’s deep slumber is broken when she hears a thud from outside her chilly room (where the AC was safe and working just fine, thank _fuck_ for that) followed by a now familiar meow. Hope sighs and sits up, throwing her blanket away and leaving her bed, her hands rubbing the sleep away from her eyes as she walks out of her room and makes her way to her kitchen, where she now could hear the insistent meowing of the black kitten.

“Hello again,” Hope greets him, leaning down and grabbing him in her arms, petting his small head softly as he looks up at her. Hope had never been a cat person, but she has to admit - this one might just be growing on her. It was just simply too cute not to hold instant affection for the tiny creature. “It’s real late, buddy. What do you need?” 

The cat blinks up at her and she smiles.

“I don’t have cat food.” She tells him. He seems to understand it, because he meows at her - or, you know, maybe Hope was crazy and sleep deprived. But either way, she sets him down and watches as he leaves the kitchen and follows after him.

The kitten jumps on her couch and looks around, as if studying the room he had found himself in. Hope chuckles at his curiosity and then curses herself when she sees the time in the digital clock near the television. 

She exhales.

“Hey, little guy, I got to work really early tomorrow,” She tells him softly as she pets his little head, and she shakes her head at herself when she finds herself waiting for a response. “Feel free to sleep over, if you want.”

The cat only meows in response and Hope waits for a moment before she shrugs and goes back to her room.

When she wakes up 5 hours later, the kitten is gone.

* * *

The cat was now a regular guest in Hope’s home. He usually only came by during the night, as if he had memorized Hope’s daily schedule and knew that she would be home by then. She didn’t bother closing the balcony door anymore and she now bought a small bag of cat food and snacks whenever she had to do grocery shopping (which made Landon look at her curiously the first few times and Hope didn’t bother to explain because Landon was forcing her to do the grocery shopping anyway, so.)

It’s not that she like, considers the cat to be hers. She knew it had an owner. But it was nice to know that the small and adorable creature had grown fond of her. Most cats she crossed paths with through her life had hated her, so this was an ego-boost, if she was honest.

She was curious about who the cat really belonged to - the only clue she had to its owner’s identity was the number 204 on its collar, which Hope had guessed meant the owner either lived in the second floor of the same building as her or on the second floor of the building across the street. She would totally ask, but she was barely ever home as it was and whenever the cat visited, it was long after the societal acceptable hours to knock on a stranger’s door. (And, okay, these are total bullshit excuses because Hope wasn’t willing to admit to herself that she really just couldn’t be bothered to talk to someone she doesn’t know.)

Long story short, the kitten’s visits had turned into routine. She would get home from work, and the black cat with the purple collar and dark eyes would be on her kitchen counter like the first time or asleep on the couch. She’d give him food, play with him a little and then go to sleep; and the sliding door to the balcony would stay opened so he could leave whenever he wanted - which was usually before Hope woke up in the morning.

(She guesses that the kitten always hurried off to attend to his own morning routine with its actual owner.)

* * *

And then, one day he just… didn’t leave. 

Hope frowned when she left her room, face washed and hair brushed, ready to have her breakfast before she had to pick-up Landon and give him a ride to his dentist appointment. (Landon hates dentists. He says it is Hope’s duty to accompany him to his appointments. Hope says she’s not his mother. Landon argues he wouldn’t know, because his mother left him. Then Hope feels too guilty to say no. Rinse and repeat every time the curly haired boy has to go to the doctor.)

Anyway - rewind. 

Hope frowned when she left her room, face washed and hair brushed, and was met with the sight of the black kitten watching her curiously from his spot on her couch.

“You’re still here?” She asks, making her way to the kitchen and smiling when he follows after her, walking in between her legs and almost making her trip a handful of times. “Calm down, dude.”

The cat meows and stands in front of the small purple recipient Hope served his food in and she chuckles. She grabs the small package from her cabinet and pours some of its content in the small pot, chuckling when the kitten immediately starts eating it contently.

She makes her own breakfast, then, and eats while she scrolls down her phone, sighing tiredly when she sees the 30 texts Landon had sent her in the last hour, probably talking himself up into a panic attack over his normal procedure dentist appointment. This would definitely be a long day.

“Wish I could be you, little guy,” She tells the cat in a moment of vulnerability and then shakes her head and rolls her eyes at herself when the small creature completely ignores her and begins to give himself a bath. “Actually, nevermind.”

She stands up from the counter stool and walks out of the kitchen, ready to just get this day over with already. 

Before she leaves, she makes sure that the sliding door is open so the cat can leave whenever it wants.

  
  


* * *

Except he doesn’t leave.

Hope gets home from work, absolutely spent and definitely ignoring the buzzing of her phone on her back pocket (it was definitely Landon talking about how he doesn’t feel his mouth or asking her if he could have a certain type of food like he had gone through actual surgery and not just some cleaning), and she frowns when the first thing her eyes catch sight of is the furball she had grown so familiar with over the last few weeks. 

“You’re still here?” She asks, but it’s not really a question. She sighs, knowing full well that her bullshit excuses no longer had any ground to stand on and she had to find its owner and return the kitten, before apologizing for hoarding the kitten for an entire day. She was sure that the owner was bound to be worried.

She quickly makes her way to the elevator and presses the 2nd floor button, praying that the owner was from this building - she knew that if she had to walk across the street to the other building she would probably just end up adopting the cat to herself.

The cat is meowing at her and she shushes him softly.

“You should’ve left earlier, dude.” She tells him as she makes her way to the door brandishing the number 204 and prepares herself to knock.

She gives it three knocks and waits for an entire minute before the door opens to reveal a sleepy looking woman with shoulder length brown hair, dressed in sweats and rubbing at her tired eyes as she grumbles through a pout. 

“Oh, there he is.” Is all she says, and Hope stands there, unsure of what she should do or say. 

Hope looks down at the soft kitten and then up at the woman who’d been watching the cat with a frown and chances a question, “Is he yours?”

The woman is about to answer when there’s some commotion behind her and suddenly a blond woman pushes her aside, a relieved smile on her face as she sees the kitten resting in the auburn haired stranger’s arms. 

“Shadow!”

Hope barely has time to blink as the woman takes the cat from her arms, and Hope can’t help but take a sharp breath as the woman looks at her, a smile still on her face.

And Hope doesn’t usually say this, but.

The woman is quite frankly _breathtaking_. And she knows she sounds like a nerd (Landon) now, but. With those bright blue eyes and soft looking blonde hair, her pale skin filled with freckles that looked so smooth and warm - Hope has no other word to use to describe her.

Hope then realizes that the woman was waiting for an answer when she keeps staring at her expectantly and the brown haired woman next to her is watching her with sleepy amusement.

“Sorry, what?” Hope asks, and the blonde woman gives her a funny look before she smiles.

“I asked if he was giving you too much trouble.” She says, and then she kisses the kitten - _Shadow_ \- on the head as he meowed at her as if he knew they were talking about him. “He usually comes back on his own, but when he didn’t return for the whole day I got worried. I was about to leave to go looking for him.”

Hope nods in understanding, giving the other woman a reluctant smile as she admits, “Yeah, um, I usually give him food when he comes by, but when I got home from work just now and he was still there I figured I should deliver him myself this time.”

The blonde woman nods, “He can be a bit imposing.” The brown haired girl beside her mutters something against her breath that makes the blonde roll her eyes at her. The brown haired woman nods once in Hope’s direction and heads back into the apartment, apparently having had enough of this particular exchange.

“Excuse my sister,” The blonde shakes her head and exhales, “She just went through a breakup so she’s given in to her dark personality. You know how it goes.”

“Uh, totally.” Hope lies, trying not to let the relief she was feeling over the other woman being a sister and not a significant other show. “Uh, um, I’m Hope.” She introduces herself, holding her hand out for a shake.

The blonde sets the cat down and watches as he all but runs inside, followed by the sound of a groan from the other woman inside the apartment followed by, “Lizzie, your cat is stealing my food _again!”_

The blonde turns back to Hope and smirks as she grabs her hand, “I’m Lizzie. It’s nice to meet you, Hope.”

“Likewise,” Hope nods, a smile taking up her features at the feeling of Lizzie’s hand against hers as she considers her next words, “Maybe next time we can discuss a joint custody of Shadow.”

Lizzie smirks and nods, “Yeah, sure.” 

They stand there for a moment, just smiling at each other, their hands still gripping each other’s, and then Hope finally snaps out of it. “I should probably… head back. Um, it’s been a long day.”

Lizzie gives her a nod in understanding and smiles a cute little smile that makes Hope’s heart do cartwheels against her chest. “Thank you again, Hope.”

“No problem,” Hope waves her off and licks her lips, “Bye, Lizzie.”

“Bye.” Lizzie waves, still giving her that smile, and Hope turns to leave.

Hope smiles when she feels Lizzie’s eyes on her until she’s out of sight.

As she closes her own apartment door, she looks over at the open balcony door and the cat food on the corner of her kitchen and smiles widely.

She can’t wait for Shadow’s next visit.

(Actually, she knows that she’s actually kinda more excited about another excuse to knock on the pretty blonde’s door again.)

Hope goes to sleep that night with a dumb, goofy smile on her face, and her balcony door stays open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy! hope u have a nice week!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make me very happy! Find me @ eviegrimhildes on tumblr, and feel free to send me prompts <3


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